Are you ready with a costume to submit? Click HERE and email the Membership Liaison with your costume photos to start the process, then head over to the 501st website join page HERE to fill in the forms!
Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately we cannot directly point you to where to acquire a costume outright.
The 501st Legion has a complex, unofficial relationship with Lucasfilm Ltd (or “LFL”). While LFL very much appreciates what we do to promote their brand, technically, the people who vacu-form and sell armor pieces are infringing on Disney/LFL copyright.
This can make things tough on someone new who wants to get armor and join up.
The good news is that once you’re a member of the Legion, you will get access to our private forums, where information is passed around and shared a whole lot more freely. Yes, this is something of a Catch-22, where the people who most need the information have the least access to it, and the people who don’t necessarily need the information any longer have more than they could ever want.
Armageddon is a great place to catch local troopers, ask questions and talk Star Wars!
That depends on what costume you choose and what skills you bring to the project. If you can sew, an officer costume would be be relatively cheap, but if you can’t sew you’d need to hire a tailor. In general, our costumes range from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand depending on the character.
If you’re interested in costuming as a “good guy” from the Star Wars saga, the club you’re probably looking for is our “sister” group, the Rebel Legion. Among dozens of other costumes, they cover farmboys, princesses, smugglers, wookiees, golden droids, x-wing pilots, commandos, and crazy old wizards. If you want to go that route, the Rebel Legion has tons of great resources for you… but do keep the Empire in mind in the future. We‘re always looking for double agents!
The 501st has formed detachments focused on particular costumes (explained below), but keep in mind some costumes that are commercially available in stores or online may not be acceptable for 501st Membership.
Detachments are global communities that are helpful for members who wish to create a costume. CRLs do not provide advice or give specifics on how to construct a costume, but detachments do offer guidance and support for costumers. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the detachment your costume is part of and also join the related forum.
The 501st has an extensive list of applicable costumes to choose from. Referred as the “CRL” by members, the Costume Reference Library details the requirements needed for each costume to to be approved by the 501st legion. A CRL is a guide for the GML (Garrison Membership Liaison) to judge a costume. Understand that a CRL is not intended to be a detailed how-to on costume construction; rather it is a visual guide to be used for 501st costume approval
The best place to start is creating yourself on our local Forums, HERE and introduce yourself! Our current members are more than happy to assist in pointing you in the direction you need to get started. The 501st does require all members to be at least 18 years of age to join.
Next would be to join the "Detachment" specific to your costume as mentioned above. Joining the Detachment of the uniform you are aiming for is a great way to get straight to the experts on your costume.